Legends of Tomorrow S3 Ep. 4 ‘Phone Home’ Review
This weeks episode pays homage to 80’s nostalgia, specifically E.T. With several other shows and movies going back to the 80’s, it made sense that Legends would do the same. While we do have some sweet moments and a nice message about growing up, the episode itself ultimately falls flat in delivering its comedic sensibility and drops the ball on a dramatic subplot.
Spoilers Ahead
Ray Palmer is dead! Or at least for a short while he is. There’s an anachronism in 1988 that gets Ray killed as a kid. The Legends go to investigate and they discover that a young Ray Palmer has befriended a baby Dominator. The alien species Dominators were first seen in last years Arrowverse crossover, which I personally enjoyed very much. With time displaced an infant has crossed paths with a young Ray and the mother is looking for it…
Having the Dominator baby serve similarities to E.T. is actually very clever and a pretty neat way for an 80’s nostalgic episode. The person who shines the most this episode is easily Brandon Routh who still brings that adorkable charm to Ray Palmer, while also showing us a mature side to Ray who offers the lesson that we all have to grow up and move on, but in the process, we stay true to who we are as we grow.
Zari is paired up with Ray in this episode and in this episode, we find out that she’s excellent at reading people and would much rather keep her distance from the crew. However, it’s with her interactions with present and past Ray that make her realize that what the Legends are doing is actually worth it. Both characters work well together and have a nice connection; hope there aren’t any plans to force a romantic relationship.
Meanwhile, there is a subplot involving Jax, Mick, and Prof. Stein in the ship. Mick has reason to believe the Prof. Stein is spying for the Time Bureau and all evidence points towards it. Jax and Mick confront Stein about it and we learn that he created a device to communicate through time so he can be able to speak to his daughter Lily, who will be giving birth very soon. Mick and Jax apologize and head back to the present day so that he may see the birth of his first grandson. While it is a sweet moment preceded by some good suspension, it felt rather rushed, but Jax does notice something that needs to change.
One of the more interesting moments of the episode is at the very end with Jax, as he talks to Ray about being able to split him and Stein up permanently. This is to pave the way for Victor Garber (Prof. Stein) departure from the series. Though it probably won’t be the very next episode, it’s basically a countdown until we say goodbye to a beloved cast member.
For some reason, the episode takes place on Halloween and while it would make sense since the episode actually landed on Halloween, but it offered nothing substantial and felt like it was only brought that way to showcase Zari’s new costume, which looks like something out of Party City. Also, Nate’s comedy felt more annoying this time around and like I previously stated, the comedy in general just fell flat. I do however like that they didn’t include the Time Bureau this time around since we don’t need to see them and Agent Sharpe, every episode.
What did you think of the episode? Be sure to let us know! Episode Five of Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesday, November 7 at 9:00pm EST on the CW.
